UK Consumers Want Pay-as-You-Go Smart Meters

UK Consumers Want Pay-as-You-Go Smart Meters

A new study found that nearly half of UK power consumers would like to use a smart pay-as-you-go (PAYG) meter for their gas and electricity. The technology is most embraced by younger consumers, with 60 percent of 18-34 year olds interested in using smart meters. Sixty-eight percent would use a smart phone app. There is also an geographical factor, with people in northern areas more bullish on smart meters than their southern counterparts, according to the survey commissioned by Smart Energy GB.

The study indicated consumers want flexibility over the way they pay for gas and electricity and smart PAYG will transform the experience for prepayment customers.

Smart Energy GB chief executive officer Sacha Deshmukh notes, It is clear that people want greater control and visibility over how they buy and use energy and smart pay-as-you-gomade possible by the national roll-out of smart metersis a big step towards this.

Over the summer a new campaign designed to engage the public with smart meters was introduced to acknowledge the anxiety families may have over the unpredictability of their water and power bills.

Baroness Margaret McDonagh, Smart Energy GB chair, noted. They dont know what theyre spending from day to day and they dont know how much their bill will be when it hits the mat; its as if their energy is out of control. Smart Energy GBs campaign will show how smart meters will start to solve some of these problems.

Smart Energy GB is mandated to communicate with more than 2.5 million homes and 3.5 million businesses during the smart meter rollout, which is scheduled to deploy more than 50 million smart meters across Britain by 2020.